Moves With Future in Mind

In a stunning turn of events, I think the Mets are better off without Ben Zobrist. Zobrist will be 35 getting four years at $14 million. That's a decent amount for someone that wants one full time position. I think that a big draw to him is his versatility. The fact that he can play second, left, right average as well as fill in at third, short and center in a bind really makes his value that much greater even given his age. He fights every at bat and can play pretty much every position on the field. He seems to be a good clubhouse guy.

The Mets turned around quickly and traded a piece that was going to be expendable for a piece they are going to need. They traded Jon Niese for Neil Walker and I think both sides will benefit from this trade. Ray Searage seems to have a way with pitchers like Niese (see J.A. Happ). Neil Walker is a switch hitting second baseman. He started at second base and was batting fourth for most of the season last year. I think Neil Walker can bat many places but his better swing comes from the left side of the plate. I think he can bat second, fifth or sixth. He is a very similar player to Daniel Murphy. Neil Walker has a little more pop and has a higher strikeout rate. I think Walkers best attribute is his bat, another second baseman with a better bat than defense. I kind of like this deal because Walker is only here for a year (at worst) and if they want to they can trade him. If he spends the whole year with the Mets, and the Mets offer him a qualifying offer then the Mets get another draft pick. It was a pretty sneaky move with them now getting a pick from Murphy signing elsewhere. I think this move was set up with Dilson Herrera in mind to get him more seasoning in the minors and then when he's ready he can come up and take over.

The Mets also signed Asdrubal Cabrera who can play the middle infield well and has some pop. He once looked like he could be an up and coming player with the Indians. He is still solid and can be an everyday shortstop if they think Flores can't be. I think that with this signing it makes Flores the guy for third base on days that Wright needs off. Flores will take the role that Murphy would have if he wasn't a free agent. Flores should also take some grounders at first just in case he needs to cover for Duda. And maybe they look into trading Duda mid-season while Flores can take over at first.

The winter meetings are always a fun time. The Mets still have a lot more work to do before Opening Day. They need a lefty (Blevins? Hopefully someone else too), another outfielder (Parra can play all three outfield positions with more pop than Span), and Bartolo Colon because well Colon is like a cowbell and you can usually use more cowbell.

What do you think? What names in the bullpen would you like to see? Who would you like to see as help in the outfield? Would you like to see Cespedes or Heyward in a Mets uniform? (I don't think either of them really fit).